A dash cam front and rear setup used to mean two cameras and a compromise: a sharp front image and a rear view that was good enough to show what happened, but rarely good enough to read a plate. The Vantrue N4 Pro S changes that balance by adding a third camera and putting a Sony STARVIS 2 sensor behind every lens. It records 4K up front, 1080p inside the cabin, and 2.5K out the back — three channels at once, from one box on the windshield.
That makes it a different kind of buy from the two-channel cameras most drivers know. Rideshare drivers get cabin coverage with infrared night vision. Truck and SUV owners get a waterproof rear camera that can mount outside the car. And every driver gets GPS, 5.8GHz Wi-Fi, voice control, and a supercapacitor built for hot windshields. This review covers what the N4 Pro S actually records, how its night vision holds up, what parking mode really costs, and how it compares with the two-channel alternatives most buyers shortlist next to it.
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| Pick | Product | Why it stands out | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Winner | Vantrue N4 Pro S 3-Channel Dash Cam | 4K front + 1080p cabin + 2.5K rear, Triple STARVIS 2, IP67 waterproof rear camera, GPS and 5.8GHz Wi-Fi | |
| Best Budget | REDTIGER F7NP Dash Cam | 4K front / 1080p rear, STARVIS IMX335 sensor, supercapacitor, 32GB card included | |
| Premium Pick | ROVE R2-4K Dual Dash Cam | 4K front (upscaled from native 2.5K) + 1080p rear, Sony IMX675 STARVIS 2, GPS, dual-band 5.8GHz Wi-Fi, 128GB card included |
Table of Contents
What the N4 Pro S Is: Three Cameras, One Box
The Vantrue N4 Pro S is a three-channel dash cam: a front camera on the windshield, a cabin camera that watches the interior, and a smaller rear camera covering the road behind you. The front unit has a 3.19-inch LCD screen for framing shots and changing settings without your phone. Instead of a lithium battery it uses a supercapacitor, which tolerates a hot parked cabin far better than a battery.
What sets it apart is the sensor line-up. All three channels use a Sony STARVIS 2 sensor: the IMX678 up front, the IMX662 in the cabin, and the IMX675 at the rear. Vantrue describes it as the first 3-channel dash cam with STARVIS 2 on all three channels. The rear camera is IP67 waterproof, so it can mount outside the car. Firmware updates arrive over the air, and the camera also offers voice control and Vantrue’s PlatePix feature, designed to help capture licence plates more clearly.
One warning: this review is about the N4 Pro S only. The older N4 Pro records 4K up front with 1080p in the cabin and 1080p at the rear, and supports cards up to 512GB; the N4S records 2.7K up front. The N4 Pro S is the one with 4K front, 1080p cabin, and 2.5K rear, with support for cards up to 1TB — check the model name in the listing title before you buy. The card is sold separately, so budget for a high-endurance card, which lasts longer under constant writing.
Video Quality: 4K Front, 1080p Cabin, 2.5K Rear
The headline spec is 4K up front: 3840×2160 at 30 frames per second from the Sony IMX678 STARVIS 2 sensor. That is the resolution that matters most for reading a number plate, and the 155-degree front lens catches adjacent lanes as well as the road ahead. HDR is built in, which helps in high-contrast moments: driving out of a tunnel into bright sun, or facing oncoming headlights at night.
The rear camera is the surprise of the three. It records at 2.5K (1440p) from the Sony IMX675 STARVIS 2 sensor with a 160-degree viewing angle — a real step up from the 1080p rear cameras on most dual-channel models. That extra resolution gives you a better chance of reading the plate of the car behind you. The cabin camera records at 1080p from the Sony IMX662, enough to show who was in the car and what they were doing.
There is also a two-channel mode worth knowing about. When cabin monitoring is not needed, the N4 Pro S can switch to front plus rear recording only — 4K front and 2.5K rear. According to Vantrue’s listing, that mode runs 30 percent cooler than recording all three channels, which is worth remembering on long drives in hot weather.
Night Vision and Triple STARVIS 2
Night driving is where a dash cam earns its keep, and it is where the STARVIS 2 sensors do their best work. Among current car dash cameras, the triple STARVIS 2 setup is the N4 Pro S’s headline feature: the same sensor family on all three channels, rather than a good sensor up front and a basic one everywhere else. Sony’s STARVIS 2 sensors are back-illuminated and designed for low light, so night footage stays in colour longer instead of turning grainy and washed out.
HDR matters at night for a different reason: headlights. A bright headlight in a dark frame is the classic dash-cam failure — the light blows out and the plate behind it disappears. HDR blends multiple exposures, holding the bright areas back while the shadows stay visible. It will not work miracles on a fast-moving plate under a streetlight, but it gives the N4 Pro S a better chance of keeping both halves of a night scene readable.
The Cabin Camera: Rideshare and Interior Coverage
The cabin camera is the reason many buyers will choose this camera over a two-channel model. It records the interior at 1080p from the Sony IMX662 STARVIS 2 sensor, with four infrared LEDs for night vision, so the cabin stays visible in the dark — exactly when rideshare drivers most need a record of what happened in their car.
For Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers, the cabin channel is the whole point. A dispute with a passenger, a damaged seat, or an incident inside the car is hard to prove with road footage alone, and the interior recording is the evidence that settles it. Parents get the same value in a different way: the cabin camera shows what children and passengers are doing on long drives.
There is one practical note. A cabin camera records people, and the rules on recording passengers vary by place — some jurisdictions require telling passengers they are being recorded, so check your local rules before you drive for hire.
GPS, Wi-Fi, and the App
GPS is built in, and it does more than stamp your speed on the video. It records your location alongside the footage, so a clip carries a record of where and how fast you were travelling — the kind of detail that matters if footage ever supports an insurance claim.
Clips come off the camera over 5.8GHz Wi-Fi to the Vantrue app. The 5.8GHz band is the fast one for pulling a clip to your phone at the roadside, and a short incident clip lands on your phone in seconds. The app also handles over-the-air firmware updates, and voice control covers the hands-free basics, such as locking a recording without taking your hands off the wheel.
Parking Mode and the Hardwire Kit
Parking mode is the N4 Pro S’s most misunderstood feature. The camera supports parking mode, which watches the car while parked and records on impact or movement. But it does not work out of the box — it needs a hardwire kit, sold separately, that connects to the fuse box so the camera can draw power with the ignition off. No hardwire-kit link is given here, because sources disagree on which kit fits this model — check the listing for the kit Vantrue specifies for the N4 Pro S.
Without the kit, the camera behaves like most car dash cameras: it starts when the car starts and stops when the car stops. The supercapacitor is not a substitute — it replaces a lithium battery because it handles cabin heat better, but it does not keep the camera recording once the car is off. So the real cost of parking mode is the kit plus installation.
N4 Pro S vs the Alternatives: Dash Cam Front and Rear Compared
The closest two-channel rival is the ROVE R2-4K Dual, covered in our ROVE R2-4K Dual review. It records 4K up front and 1080p at the rear, but read the fine print: the front 4K is upscaled from a native 2.5K sensor, and its rear camera is 1080p where the Vantrue’s is 2.5K. The ROVE counters with a Sony IMX675 STARVIS 2 sensor, GPS, dual-band 5.8GHz Wi-Fi, a 3-inch touchscreen, a supercapacitor, and a 128GB card in the box. It is a strong two-channel camera, but it has no cabin channel, so rideshare drivers should look elsewhere. We state no warranty for the ROVE here, because our ROVE review could not verify one.
The other name on most shortlists is the REDTIGER F7NP, covered in our REDTIGER F7NP review. It is a front and rear dash camera that records 4K up front and 1080p behind, with a supercapacitor and a 32GB card in the box. The differences are in the details: the F7NP’s front sensor is the STARVIS IMX335 — not STARVIS 2 — and its 4K output is interpolated from a native 2.5K sensor. Like the ROVE it has no cabin channel. We state no warranty for the F7NP either, because our F7NP review states none. For the wider field, see our five-pick dash cam dashboard camera roundup.
One more name belongs here for tighter budgets: the VIOFO A119 Mini 2 dash cam, a single-channel camera that records the front view only — the budget route to strong front-facing video if you do not need a rear or cabin camera. The N4 Pro S’s case is that the extra channels, GPS, and triple STARVIS 2 sensors are worth the step up.
Who Should Buy It — and Who Should Skip It
Buy the N4 Pro S if you drive for Uber, Lyft, or a taxi service: the cabin camera with infrared night vision is the feature that justifies the whole purchase, and no two-channel camera in this review offers it. Buy it too if you drive a truck, SUV, or RV — the IP67 waterproof rear camera can mount outside, and the 2.5K rear resolution is a genuine step up from 1080p rear cameras. Commuters who want evidence from every direction, and drivers who park in the sun and want a supercapacitor instead of a battery, are the third group it suits.
Skip it if you only need a front camera: a single-channel camera such as the VIOFO A119 Mini 2 covers that job for less. Skip it too if you will never watch cabin footage — the third channel is why this camera costs more than a two-channel model. And skip parking mode unless you will buy and fit the hardwire kit.
Verdict
The Vantrue N4 Pro S is the most complete dash cam front and rear package in this review’s comparison: a true 4K front camera, a 1080p cabin camera with infrared night vision, and a 2.5K waterproof rear camera, all running Sony STARVIS 2 sensors, with GPS, 5.8GHz Wi-Fi, voice control, and a supercapacitor built for hot windshields. Its limits are equally clear: the memory card and the hardwire kit are both sold separately, and the cabin camera is only worth paying for if you will actually use it. Accept those facts and this is a strong buy for rideshare drivers, truck and SUV owners, and anyone who wants every angle covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Vantrue N4 Pro S a true 4K dash cam?
Yes, up front. The front camera records at 4K (3840×2160) at 30 frames per second from a Sony IMX678 STARVIS 2 sensor. The cabin camera records at 1080p and the rear camera at 2.5K (1440p), so only the front channel is 4K — but unlike some rivals, the N4 Pro S does not upscale a lower-resolution sensor to reach 4K.
How is the N4 Pro S different from the older N4 Pro?
The older Vantrue N4 Pro records 4K up front with 1080p in the cabin and 1080p at the rear, and supports cards up to 512GB. The N4 Pro S upgrades the rear camera to 2.5K, puts a STARVIS 2 sensor on all three channels, and supports cards up to 1TB. The Vantrue N4S is a different model again, with a 2.7K front camera. Check the model name in the listing title before you buy.
Does the cabin camera record at night?
Yes. The cabin camera uses a Sony IMX662 STARVIS 2 sensor with four infrared LEDs, so it records the interior in the dark. That is the feature that makes the N4 Pro S a practical choice for rideshare and taxi drivers, who most need cabin footage at night.
Does parking mode work out of the box?
No. The N4 Pro S supports parking mode, but it needs a hardwire kit that is sold separately and connects to the car’s fuse box. Without the kit, the camera starts when the car starts and stops when the car stops. The supercapacitor does not keep the camera recording once the car is off, so budget for the kit if parking protection matters to you.
What size memory card does the N4 Pro S take?
The N4 Pro S supports microSD cards up to 1TB. No card is included in the box, so you need to buy one separately — a high-endurance card is the right call for a camera that writes constantly, since standard cards wear out faster.
Is the rear camera waterproof?
Yes. The rear camera is IP67 waterproof, so it can be mounted outside the car as well as on the rear glass. That makes the N4 Pro S a good fit for trucks, SUVs, and RVs, where an exterior rear mount gives a clearer view than one behind tinted or obstructed rear glass.
